Two Sheer Lip Colors from BITE: SPF 15 Sheer Balm and Lip Shine

BITE Beauty is an alluring collection of lip products, available at Sephora. All of BITE's products feature the super-antioxidant, resveratrol, to protect your lips. Ranging from the lightest to the darkest shades, the long-lasting shades were designed by leading makeup artists. In addition to featuring resveratrol, BITE's formulas have all-star, natural ingredient lists that include organic shea butter, superfoods, and food-grade coloring, making them "good enough to eat."

I've been exploring my way through BITE's products, and I'm very happy with everything I tried. Today, I'm featuring two different products: SPF 15 Sheer Balm and BITE Lip Shine. I'm a sheer lip color worshiper, and I know that I don't sit alone in that pew.

SPF 15 Sheer Balm ($19) caught my eye immediately. The slim tube, transparent color, and SPF protection reminded me of one of my "old favorites," YSL's Gloss Volupté Sheer Sensual Gloss Stick. This soothing Sheer Balm formula features delicious organic mint and blood orange essential oils to refresh and cool the lips. With every application, a micro-delivery of super-antioxidant resveratrol provides age-repairing benefits. Each balm contains the amount of resveratrol found in five glasses of red wine. More has to be better, right?

There are eight shades available, ranging from Sparkling (pale peach nude) to Burgundy (berry rose). They had me at the berry description, so I ordered Burgundy. With transparent lip colors, I like to go darker so that I can see some color on my lips - it lights up my face.

BITE Lip Shine ($20) is a gloss, a translucent lip tint available in 10 illuminating colors. There's something for everyone, from the sheer nude Prosecco to Raspberry, a blue red. As with the balm, I was looking for a little color, so I selected Plum, described as sheer aubergine.

This high-tech gloss is infused with time-release jojoba beads and an antioxidant resveratrol complex that imparts soothing hydration and intense shine. Like the SPF 15 Sheer Balm, each Lip Shine contains a high concentration of resveratrol, but no nasty stuff, like synthetics, polybutene, and petroleum byproducts.

I took a few photos for you - all in full, afternoon sun, but all with my arm turned at slightly different angles to the sun. My photos were taken in front of a Kousa dogwood. Mine is in full, glorious bloom.

I applied SPF 15 Sheer Lip Balm in Burgundy at the top and Sheer Lip Shine in Plum at the bottom of my arm. I think both shades are gorgeous. They are different products, but have very similar levels of pigmentation - or sheerness. It's like describing a glass as half-full or half-empty. Since I selected pigmented shades in sheer lip colors, they have color - on my arm and on my lips. I love that.

On my lips, Burgundy isn't burgundy. Instead, it's the beautiful berry color you see on my arm. Plum Lip Shine is plum-rose or rosy grape, beautiful to my eyes.

The Balm has no discernible taste. The Lip Shine does. It's not one of those bubble-gum tastes, though - nor does it taste like red wine, which would be "interesting." The ingredient list of both says "natural flavor," but I have no idea what it is - and I can't taste it at all in the Balm. Figure that out!

There is retinyl palmitate (far down on the ingredient list) in the Lip Shine; it's not present in the Balm. For that reason, I would buy a second Balm before I buy a second Lip Shine. My regular readers know that's a personal preference. Unless you are also sensitive to retinyl palmitate, you shouldn't care; you might even like having the vitamin A derivative for its anti-aging benefits.

Enticed to try one? I think they deserve a look-see. There are many other BITE lip products to tempt you. I also purchased the Vitamin Gel Trio, which I'll tell you about very soon. All of BITE's beauties are exclusive to Sephora.

P.S. I've started spelling out my blog name in the photo credits because of content theft. BTiB was too vague to indicate to those reading my stolen features on other sites that it's my arm!

Product photos courtesy of Sephora; swatches by Best Things in Beauty

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Alima Pure Organic Nourishing Lipbalm

Just in time for summer, a luscious treat for luscious lips! Alima Pure's organic Nourishing Lipbalms ($7) hit the spot. Housed in cute little slim tubes, these are take-everywhere lip treats.

These lovely new lip balms are lip color and treatment in one. Filled with soothing antioxidants, rich pigments, and organic plant oils and butters, Alima Pure's glossy balms are delightful. The company sent me three of them, and I'm coveting more. At $7 each, I won't feel any pain ordering one of each. Each of the three shades I've tried adds what looks like natural color to my lips - like I was born with it. I'm wearing Fig as I write. It's divine. There is a clear one, just in case you want your organic lip balm to be colorless. I can't imagine that, given the pretty colors, but the option is available.

Alima Pure's Nourishing Lipbalm was in development for two years while the company worked to create the perfect combination of incredible organic ingredients from certified producers and premium natural mineral pigments. They wanted the balm feel amazing, smell great, and deliver rich color. They succeeded! Organic white tea and pomegranate antioxidants nourish and protect the lips for hours, and the shades are universally flattering.

Here are swatch photos of Fig, Holly Berry, and Rhubarb, top to bottom. My photos were taken in full afternoon sun. The sun added a lot of shimmer to the shades. They are not particularly shiny or sparkly - just gorgeously glossy. I think the middle shade, Holly Berry, in the photo at left below shows the finish the best. Even with the reflections from the sun, the color renderings in the photos are spot-on. I love all three and wouldn't be able to choose just one. Now I want all the rest of the shades - really! I am a lip balm addict, and why wouldn't a lip balm addict want believable color to go with a moisturizing treat?

While they have a very subtle mint fragrance, it disappears in a heartbeat. I'm fine with the scent. The sticks are soft, and I have messed them up a bit with use. I wouldn't recommend leaving them in a hot car. I'm not sure what they would do, and I am not going to test one of my little treasures by doing that.

Alima Pure is on my "favorite green beauty companies list." If you missed the dazzling Rainforest Collection of gem-toned eye shadows, you can see my swatches at this link.

Alima Pure has a great Web site, filled with information, and their blog is interesting (a great discussion of natural health and beauty). They also have a Facebook site and a Twitter account. Check them out - you won't be disappointed. This is green makeup a makeup snob can love!

Photo at top courtesy of Alima Pure

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YSL Volupté Sheer Candy Glossy Balm Crystal Color

YSL's Volupté Sheer Candy Glossy Balm Crystal Color ($30) has landed - at Sephora. I had expected it to arrive at Neiman Marcus in late June or July. Suddenly, it appeared as a temporary Sephora exclusive. I jumped for joy because it's the replacement for my beloved YSL Gloss Volupté Sheer Sensual Gloss Sticks, which I started hoarding the moment I learned they were being discontinued.

This glossy, tinted balm will dress your lips in a sheer veil of brilliant transparent color boosted with vitamin-laden and antioxidant-rich fruit extracts. Its ultra-light texture leaves my lips feeling soft and hydrated - just the way I like them.

There are six shades. Since I was online and didn't have an opportunity to play with them, I ordered all six. I'm glad I did. There isn't one I don't like. Here are the shades, as described by Sephora and YSL.

• 01 Lush Coconut, sheer nude beige with golden shimmer
• 02 Dewy Papaya, sheer fresh peach
• 03 Juicy Grapefruit, sheer fresh baby pink with golden shimmer
• 04 Succulent Pomegranate, sheer bright pink with red undertones
• 05 Mouthwatering Berry, sheer reddish blackberry
• 06 Luscious Cherry, sheer cherry red with golden shimmer

Here is a photo of all six tubes. The tubes are silver in color, as opposed to the golden tubes in which the Rouge Volupté lip colors are housed. That will help me find one of them in my makeup bag in a hurry, particularly since Rouge Volupté Perle in Stellar Pink is with me at all times. Each balm has a representation of its shade in the decorative color band on the tube - helpful for people like me who carry more than one along.

When you read "sheer" with each description, there's a reason. If you are looking for pigmented lipsticks, this is not your lip color. If you want a natural, hydrating color that you can swipe and go, you will adore Volupté Sheer Candy.

To get swatches for you, I applied four or five swipes of each shade on my arm and took my photo outdoors in bright sunlight. I swatched in numerical order from top (near my wrist) to bottom. The photo at left shows that, with one exception, they increase in pigmentation as you move from 01 to 06. The lightest one is 03, Juicy Grapefruit (third from top), which is a barely there pink.

I have had 01, Lush Coconut, at my desk at work for a few days. I love it! The nude color is perfect for a quick touch-up or dose of moisture for my lips, and I've needed almost continuous moisture on my lips since I burned them with something early in the week. Don't let the appearance of the shades in the tube mislead you. All of these, even the one that appears to be orange, are extremely wearable.

I added two photos to show you the shades from slightly different angles. Can you tell I love Sheer Candy? At right, with the sun making the shades reflect in an arc, the shades show off their glossiness. Below, with the sun at a different angle, you can still see how glossy the Sheer Candy shades will be on your lips. You certainly don't need to apply lip gloss over these beauties!

The Sheer Candy's do have a fruity fragrance, much like the Gloss Volupté Sheer Sensual Gloss Sticks (possibly the same). The mango fragrance of its predecessor didn't bother me at all, and this one doesn't either. However, if you didn't like the gloss sticks, try before you buy.

I love them! Right now, you can only purchase YSL's Volupté Sheer Candy Glossy Balm Crystal Color at Sephora. They are scheduled to arrive at YSL counters at the department stores in July.

Top photo courtesy of Sephora

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News You Need to Know: YSL and BITE

One's history, one's new: sheer lip colors...

YSL is discontinuing its Gloss Volupté Sheer Sensual Gloss Stick SPF 9 - very soon. I would guess that production stopped long ago, since its replacement is going to hit the counters in April. The replacement sounds divine, but...if you are as addicted as I am to the Gloss Stick, hoard now!

Yesterday, I asked my favorite Neiman Marcus sales associate to pull every color they had left except Tangy Orange. Today, I found that Sephora has only one shade left to sell. Why don't companies warn us? If you like these fabulous Gloss Sticks, it's time to search and buy. The replacement may be stunning - and probably is. The gals in the stores have been trained, and they think it's going to wow us. I just like what I like, and I hate to lose favorites.

Not long ago, I got a very nice sample from Sephora. BITE Lip Rouge ($22) is a multitasking lip color and blush, rich with buildable layers of color and a satin texture. This lip color delivers the super-antioxidant resveratrol, which fights free radicals with potent long-term anti-aging benefits. Each Lip Rouge contains the amount of resveratrol found in five glasses of red wine (so do we or don't we ingest our liptick?). For weeks, Sephora has had an offer of a free sample with the promotion code BITE.

The Geranium sample shade comes in a pot that's generous for a free sample and well worth your selection. The sample was still available last night. Now that I have a few of the samples (perfect for my purse for lip and cheek color on the go), I plan to order another shade. This is a nice tinted balm - worthy of a look-see.

Here's a swatch of Geranium, the shade Sephora sent. It's very pretty. On my lips, it's light pink. I applied the Lip Rouge with my finger and took my photo in outdoor sunlight. When I order one, I will select a shade that is slightly darker - maybe Raisin.

BITE is new to Sephora. In addition to featuring beauty's hottest antioxidant, resveratrol, the all-natural ingredient list of their many lip products includes organic shea butter, superfoods, and food-grade colors, making them good enough to eat. "It's beauty that's better for you."

While I am telling you about Sephora, the company just started a sample promotion. You can select five samples of skin-care products until April 5. No special code is needed. While the samples are the typical packet samples, it's a nice offer. You'll get five samples, and you can still get your BITE sample. You won't even have to look at smelly perfume samples.

I'm toying with making News You Need to Know a periodic feature - appearing when I have news bytes to share ("half-posts" to combine) - so please let me know what you think.

Photos courtesy of Sephora

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MELVITA Essentials Lip Stick

MELVITA is a fabulous natural beauty brand. I love their products. Last year, SkinStore, where you can purchase a long list of MELVITA products - usually at a discount, sent me a kit of samples. I don't remember whether MELVITA's Essentials Lip Stick ($10) was in the kit or whether I purchased it. If I purchased it, I made a brilliant choice (in my humble opinion).

This lip treatment is lightly, almost imperceptibly scented with mandarin essence. It was designed to regenerate and effectively protect the lips, leaving them feeling comfortable and intensely hydrated. Since I'm a total lip treatment addict, I have MELVITA's Essential Lip Stick stationed on the dresser in my bedroom. I usually swipe it on each time I walk by.

The Essential Lip Stick:

• Helps to prevent lip drying and damage;
• Contains shea butter and argan butter to repair and soften the lips; and
  
• Has 100% natural ingredients.

In other words, it's pure and clean, so you don't have to worry about layering chemicals on your lips.

The container is cardboard. It's not fancy, but neither is the price. It's recyclable. It's larger/wider than other lip balms. It has a texture in the tube that could best be described as uneven (one reviewer called it bumpy) - it's not slick. The product applies smoothly, though, leaving a nice, hydrating coating on my lips.

Many of the ingredients come from organic farms. Others are derived from natural oils. It's a nice list, which you can see at this link. MELVITA is an amazing company. With a humble beginning as a biologist and beekeeper, founder Bernard Chevilliat set out to preserve the beautiful countryside of the Ardèche Gorges (France). Among his many accomplishments, he designed a production facility to blend into the surrounding landscape, and he installed a wastewater treatment system. The MELVITA production site in Lagorce now covers almost five acres and is focused on making minimal impact to the environment.

"Faced with the combined assaults of industrial chemistry and parasites, the world of bees was already, in my eyes, a reminder of the world’s increasing fragility, because a world without bees would be a world without flowers, fruit, beauty… This was why, from the outset, I wanted to place “nature at heart” of our approach and of our ecological and humanistic concerns," said Chevilliat.

MELVITA is a pioneer in organic cosmetics and has grown to become one of France’s leading brands of natural and organic cosmetics - resolutely organic - because they are convinced that the organic commitment is one of the keys to the future of the planet. Who could argue with that?

You can purchase MELVITA products - all of them fabulous - at SkinStore.com (one of my favorite online sources). SkinStore often has generous discount offers. Right now, by using the code GSG20, you can get a 20% discount on everything in their Spring Guide to Gorgeous.

Photo courtesy of SkinStore

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